


family is thicker than blood

by Shiwah



Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: DRK family rocks, Dark Knight Questline (Final Fantasy XIV) Spoilers, Found Family, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Nightmares, Sid is a big brother, no beta we just die, slight spoilers for 50-70 DRK quests
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-01
Updated: 2020-03-01
Packaged: 2021-02-27 23:48:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 935
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22974274
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shiwah/pseuds/Shiwah
Summary: He had hoped, perhaps foolishly, that the nightmares would become less frequent.
Relationships: Rielle de Caulignont & Sidurgu Orl
Comments: 3
Kudos: 38





	family is thicker than blood

It wasn't the heavy-stepped running of overzealous Temple Knights, or wood creaking under the feet of would-be assassins that shook Sidurgu awake from groggy dreams.

No; it was the muffled sobs of a child trying too hard to stay quiet.

"Rielle." No more than a grunt, yet he tried calling out to his self-appointed charge — to let her know he was there.

The sobs stopped.

"Rielle?"

Only silence answered back.

Sidurgu didn't stop to think.

Covers, off —

The darkest corner of the room was calling to him.

Sidurgu padded, bare-footed, to the bundle of blankets he could make out in the dark.

The cold of Ishgard didn't bother him. What bothered him was seeing Rielle in that state.

He sat down, as silently and gracefully as he could — which was to say, not much — next to the cocoon. From that close, he could see Rielle shivering.

He tried calling once more for the girl, as softly as his sleep-roughened voice could manage. The shivering didn't stop.

Sidurgu waited, and waited, his knees up to his chest and his arms around his legs to keep warm. His eyes fixed in the dark in front of him. He had hoped, perhaps foolishly, that the nightmares would become less frequent over time.

He waited, patient, silent, until the first rays of sunlight peeked in from behind the window and the cold grew nearly unbearable. The morning mist was chilling him to his bones. His tail _thumped_ once on the wooden floor with the discomfort — he kept still with enormous effort.

At last, Rielle shuffled beneath her armor of blankets. Sidurgu glanced at the top of her pale lime head, clear against the dark wool.

"Bad dreams?"

A nod.

"Wanna talk?"

A shake.

Sidurgu's chest expanded and deflated into a deep sigh. _Of course_ she would not want to talk. He could guess with startling ease what she dreamed about — but he wanted to hear the words come out from Rielle's mouth.

Hells damn that boy, Myste — the shade of Ystride de Caulignont undid any progress Rielle had made on her path to recovery for moons. Possibly for years.

(He would never regret killing that woman. Which monster would hunt down her own daughter for the crime of _being born?_ )

Sidurgu hated many things. He hated the Temple Knights. He hated zealots. He hated the privileged. He hated those who took Fray away and from his side.

Most of all, he hated feeling powerless.

His hand lingered on Rielle's barely visible head for several heartbeats before he mustered the courage to pet her with the most gentle of touches. She tensed for a split second, then something seemingly shifted within her. Her shoulders relaxed.

_How long had she been deprived of kindness?_

His fingers twitched — the urge to ball his hands into fists overpowering. A distressed whine from Rielle stopped him. His nails, nearly claw-like, had threatened to scratch her.

With gritted teeth, he forced himself to relax his hold and resume petting Rielle's pale locks with short, deliberately slow motions. He focused on the _here_ and _now_ , any thought of what _had been_ or _could be_ banished in favour of letting Rielle soak in his strength as much as she needed.

After what felt an eternity — the sun's rays had shifted enough to bathe the entire room into cold light — Rielle moved again, her face finally lifting up and to Sidurgu. There were patches of reddened skin around her eyes.

"What time is it?"

"Breakfast." Sidurgu did his best to ignore the pang of hot anger that coursed through him. "Are you hungry?"

Rielle nodded and bit her lip. "I would like to have another apple."

"Gridania is far away. We can start travelling there after you eat."

" _You_ eat, too, Sid. I already told you — don't be a dummy."

If she was feeling this cheeky already, perhaps he had underestimated her ability to recover. A corner of his mouth raised into a smirk before he could rein it in. "Yes, yes, as you say. Should we stay there for a while?"

Rielle lowered her head to her knees with a thoughtful hum. "It's nice. Nicer than Ishgard. I think… seeing the sun would help."

Sidurgu nodded. If Rielle wanted to see the world outside of the city that gave her nightmares, how could he refuse?

He willed his stiff, frozen limbs into moving — wobbled to the bed, his armor unceremoniously gathered in a pile on the ground and the greatsword ready to be unsheathed at a moment's notice.

It took way too long for his liking to close each clasp and belt in place around his body, his uncooperative joints like wooden blocks. Rielle fastened his gauntlets on his arms in silence, her small hands dancing on the buckles with ease born of practice doing that same act countless times.

Sidurgu measured his massive sword before sliding it into place on his back with a curt, satisfied nod at the familiar feeling of its weight.

He then turned to Rielle, standing patiently behind him with her hands clasped behind her back. "Don't fall out of step. And tell me when you're tired."

"I will."

The door — flimsy frame offering no protection from bribed blades — creaked open far too loudly. Sidurgu threw a cautious glance to both sides of the hallway. "Right, then. We're off."

Before he could step out, Rielle snuck her hand into his. At his sharp intake of breath, she gave him a small, shy smile. "If you don't mind."

Sidurgu didn't bother to reply. Instead, his hand tightened around Rielle's, and nodded once more.

**Author's Note:**

> I cleared DRK 70 a couple days ago so, of course I was going to have F E E L I N G S.  
> There's nothing quite like found family healing each other's scars.


End file.
